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The website says the free feedback was supposed to go out between the first and 15th of October but I haven't gotten any yet. Has anyone?

Yes, I think you should've gotten yours by last weekend.

They said nice things in the little paragraphs but then slammed me in the chart. On both scripts I submitted. Very bipolar.

I had to remind them about my second script. But once I emailed them, they sent it off.

Got mine. It was ... interesting.

Be back for more next year.

Mine hasn't shown up either. I just sent them an email. Thanks for the heads up, Valerie.

I received mine Oct. 9. They are hard to impress. My script almost always makes at least the semifinals of other contests. My card was nothing but averages...ow.

Wish I hadn't seen mine. On the bright side, their site says 98% of the scripts they give professional coverage to receive passes.

Thanks for the help. I sent an email and immediately got one back from them telling me they would send it at once. Unfortunately, I'm still waiting.

Lana, did you get yours yet?

Hey Valerie-- Just got mine. Took Portia a couple of days. My judge was tough but fair. Good luck.

Seems like everyone got tough readers. Does anyone think they are close to industry standards as far as what we could expect from production companies and such?

If they do reflect industry standards then that's not saying much these days. I know this is a tired rant, but when I sit in a theater and see what the previews are, I cringe. Another Muppets, really? The movie The Thing had absolutely NO character development, none. And I really enjoyed the original. Twice I started to stand to leave, but wanted to see them tie the ending into the original since it was a prequel. The hoops we all must jump through doesn't seem to be the same hoops studio writers have to jump through. I would love to read my WOTS reader's score card for The Thing script!

Athena --

You're absolutely right and here's the problem...

As writers you have NO CONTROL once your script is sold. I just went to the LA SCREAMFEST and watched a movie that a friend of mine wrote. He had a great concept and script, that's why they bought and made it.

BUT, the director wanted re-writes and lots of them. So... the director changed a great ending to something that was so over the top and out of character that now the movie leaves a bad taste and can't get a distributor. All because the director thought his ending was better. It was his ego that ruin what could have been a solid horror/thriller that could have made money for everyone.

Film making is a group effort and if part of the group has all the power then the writer is S-O-L. That's why there are so many crappy movies out. The writer is on the bottom of the food chain.

Many, many movies start out with a great script but they die on the vine by bad film makers who think they know what the audience wants. But all they're doing is stroking their frickin' ego.

Well that just sucks Script Dude. And I agree it is sadly the truth. It takes a George Clooney (Ides of March, amazing) who is involved in every aspect of the process to protect his vision and bring it to the screen safe and sound.

Got mine. Chalk up another one who got ripped a new one.

Anyone else a little disappointed that it was just a scorecard and a short paragraph?

Don

I absolutely agree with Athena. It seems there are two standards these days. I see current movies breaking all the rules we are told not to break. And not in any great way either. I see all the time long boring speeches explaining why something is happening (obvious exposition), flashbacks, unbelievable coincidences, holes in the script defying logic, undeveloped characters, unsatisfying endings, characters acting in a way no real person would ever act, O.S. explanations, and dozens more infractions that are too numerous to include here.

The reason is probably because most movies these days are the creation of some studio executive that thinks he has a great idea and hires a writer to make it happen. The writer probably has little influence on what finally gets put on the screen. But every once in a while a good idea does get through and I think that is what we are all hoping for.

I was surprised to read recently that novelists are going through the same thing screenwriters are. No one answers (or even reads) query letters any more. Publishers aren't helping writers develop their skills like they used to. I'm not surprised, but these same novelists are abandoning publishers in droves and going to Amazon. There was a recent New York Times article about this. But it also has some publishers scared because it could be the end of conventional publishing. Technology has a way of rearranging the status quo.

It seems as though only the people who paid for coverage advanced. And based on the wacky chart/paragraph analysis I received from their readers, I won't be entering again. The notes didn't seem to gel at all with the chart.

I finally got my feedback and like everyone else, I was disappointed. However, I must defend WOTS as being fair. The screenplay I submitted for actual coverage (and paid a fee for) DID NOT advance. I got several pages of comments for my money. Including a PASS for the script but a consider for writer.

The one that has advanced to the semi final round only got free feedback with the 2-3 line paragraph, but I did find the scorecard to be helpful as it targeted specific areas.

Anyway, I know of several people who paid for coverage and didn't advance. You can check their old posts on the COVERAGE INC blog and see who paid for the coverage and compare them to the list of who made the quarterfinals and semi's.